FIFA World Cup 2026 today match scores: Germany seal round of 32 berth, Curacao earn historic point against Ecuador

Netherlands scripted a dominant 5-1 win over Sweden in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F match in Houston on Saturday. In the second match of the day, Germany came from behind to beat Ivory Coast and seal their spot in the round of 32 stage.

This FIFA World Cup has witnessed a few underdog stories, and the latest such instance was when Curacao played out a 0-0 draw against Ecuador in their Group E match to earn their first-ever point.

Netherlands 5-1 Sweden - Group F

Netherlands put up a clinical effort to thump Sweden 5-1 in their Group F match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston.

The Dutch outfit was coming into this match on the back of 2-2 draw against Japan, and were relentless from the start. Right from the start of the match, the Dutch frontline were completely dominant against the Swedish defence.

Forward Brian Brobbey opened the scoring in the fifth minute by side-footing from a close range, before doubling the lead with a right-footed shot towards the bottom left corner in the 17th minute. Cody Gakpo, who had assisted Brobbey's first goal, found the back of the net in 47th minute before making it 4-0 seven minutes later by thumping one to the bottom-left corner.

In the 59th minute, Anthony Elanga came on as a substitute to score one back for Sweden and give his side a small hope, with Netherlands still leading 4-1. However, Sweden were unable to breach the strong Dutch defensive line, and to make matters worse, Crysencio Summerville drilled one towards the bottom-left corner to make it 5-1 for Netherlands.

Germany 2-1 Ivory Coast - Group E

Germany were made to sweat in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E match against Ivory Coast in Toronto on Saturday. Ivory Coast began the game aggressively and looked very promising.

The African side's efforts eventually paid off in the 30th minute, when Franck Kessie tapped the ball past Manuel Neuer. The ball had initially found its way to Amad Diallo, whose shot was blocked by the Bayern Munich goalkeeper, but Kessie made full use on the rebound to give Ivory Coast a 1-0 lead. Germany, in fact, had two goals disallowed in the first half.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Germany head coach Julien Nagelsmann made a triple substitution, that included bringing in forward Deniz Undav in place of Jamal Musiala.

Undav would then go onto score the equaliser in the 68th minute, before giving the four-time champions a 2-1 lead in the 94th minute courtesy a powerful shot with his left foot. The win took Germany to the round of 32, with six points from two matches, with one match left to play in the group stage.

Ecuador 0-0 Curacao - Group E

Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room stole the show in his team's 0-0 draw in their Group E clash against Ecuador in Kansas City on Saturday, to help his team earn their first-ever FIFA World Cup point. Curacao are one of the four debutants at the ongoing tournament.

Curacao, the smallest nation by population to qualify for the tournament, were coming into this match on the back of a 7-1 loss to Germany. Eloy Room single-handedly kept Curacao in the game, stopping each of Ecuador's 28 stops while also making 15 saves.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E standings

That is the most number of saves by a goalkeeper in a non-knockout stage match at the FIFA World Cup since the records were first considered in 1966. Ecuador dominated 75 % of the ball possession, but they were still not able to find the back of the net.

For Ecuador, right-winger Gonzalo Plata made a total of four attempts, with two of those shots on goal, but to no luck. The draw keeps Curacao's slim hopes of qualifying for the round of 32 stage still alive.

Tunisia 0-4 Japan - Group F

Tunisia were knocked out of FIFA World Cup 2026 following a 0-4 loss to Japan in their second Group F clash in Monterrey on Saturday. The Samurai Blue wasted no time in breaking the deadlock, with Daichi Kamada finding the back of the net in just the fourth minute of the game.

Japan then doubled the lead in the 31st minute through a goal from Ayase Ueda, who struck from 18 yards to thump the ball towards the bottom-left corner.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F standings

This, in fact, marked only the second time that Japan scored multiple goals in the first half of a FIFA World Cup match. The only other previous such instance was against Denmark during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

While Japan were accurate and effective in their passes throughout the game, Tunisia were more organised in the second half. However, Tunisia hardly threatened the Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.

After assisting Junya Ito's goal in the 69th minute, Ueda once again found the back of the net in the 83rd minute, when he launched a header towards the bottom-right corner, thus making it 4-0 for the Asian side. With the win, Japan are in second place with four points from two matches, thus remaining in contention for the round of 32.